This summer was a busy one for Broon and I. We started off in May going back to Boston for a visit to see a great friend of ours get married and to see loads of lovely people we miss in Boston. We took sooo many pictures as it was our first big holiday with our new camera… and then when we got home, we uploaded those photos to the external hard-drive on the computer and deleted them from the camera to make more room for work photos I needed to take at the church that weekend. Three weeks later we moved to Musselburgh. The move was smooth and all went well…. except our hard-drive has gone bust so sadly, no Boston photos to share…. but plenty of Boston memories.
Thanks soooo much to Lisa, Matt, Melissa and Tommy for looking after us. Thanks to Bethany and Jeff for including us in your big weekend! (Paul had the chance to sing in Bethany’s wedding – a Rascal Flats song I love – it’s the same one Bethany sang for us at our wedding…) We also loved celebrating Pentecost at the Watershed worship service at our friend Rob’s church in Waltham. It was lovely to be home in Boston again and definitely confirmed for us that when we move back stateside – it will be back to Boston.
My favourite part of the flat
But in the meantime, Musselburgh has definitely become our home sweet home. We moved here in June and have loved having a summer by the seaside. This is our first place we rented on our own since we were married three years ago and it’s been so lovely to be in our own place. We have a guest room which doubles as Paul’s music room. He can quite happily be heard strumming the banjo there. The living room is my favourite place to be – loads of light and now all of our books are no longer piled in cupboards. We actually have bookcases! Late in summer we had a flatwarming party which was lovely to share the new place with our friends and family here. For a look at the flat and the nearby seaside/harbour – have a look in the photo gallery.
The end of summer brought even more change – I’ve got a new job! For the next year I’ll be the Youth and Children’s Officer for The Diocese of Edinburgh covering the maternity leave of a good friend. I started a couple weeks ago and it’s brilliant. Loads of new challenges and new connections. This job is part-time so I’ve left afterschool club and now work full time in ministry between the new job and my other job at the church. It’s a real joy to get to use my degree more and have the opportunity to spend more time thinking about the theology of children’s ministry and youth ministry.
As fall is quickly approaching, we are discovering a new season by the seaside and are enjoying seeing the sunsets and walking along the blustery harbour. We’re very much looking forward to mom and dad’s upcoming visit in November. There are times when the Atlantic Ocean seems bigger than before – now is definitely one of those times. While I love living here, I continually miss my family. Right now, my Aunt Barb is fighting cancer for the second time. I would give anything to be back by her side in New Jersey as she goes through the treatments. I wish it were possible to live nearby both our families at all times. For now we will appreciate every moment with the Browns whilst we live in Musselburgh and when the Fawcetts come over for a visit we will spend as much time as possible with them and we will save up to go home soon for a visit again.
